


Height Required

by Nixie_DeAngel



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, College AU, Cute, F/M, Fluff, Frustrated Nora, Happy Ending, Hopeful Ending, meet cute, why do people put things up high when there are short people that live in the world too?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-07-09 15:22:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19890034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nixie_DeAngel/pseuds/Nixie_DeAngel
Summary: And again, not finding it were the TA who wore far too much cologne and thought he was far hotter than he was, Nora curse in her head as she bites back the urge to smack something or scream. Letting her head fall back as she squeezed her eyes closed tightly and began counting by twos until she felt herself calm down.





	Height Required

**Author's Note:**

  * For [backtothestart02](https://archiveofourown.org/users/backtothestart02/gifts).



> I chose to go with PROMPT #6: Ray/Nora - AU meet-cute.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this!
> 
> Link to aesthetic can be found [here](http://nixie-deangel.tumblr.com/)here.

* * *

Staring at the list of books, Nora Darhk couldn’t help glaring down at the paper, trying her best to set it ablaze with just her mind before letting out a frustrated huff while moving her head up and once again scanning the shelves looking for the psychology book she would need for her intro class.

_Why did I insist on doing this myself?_ She asks herself,  _ oh that’s right Nora, you wanted to prove dad wrong and now it’s gonna bite you in the ass. God, couldn’t even make it through finding your  _ books.

And again, not finding it were the TA who wore far too much cologne and thought he was far hotter than he was, Nora curse in her head as she bites back the urge to smack something or scream. Letting her head fall back as she squeezed her eyes closed tightly and began counting by twos until she felt herself calm down.

Slowly opening her eyes, she blinked once, then again and again and once more before narrowing her eyes and softly cursing under her breath, because yeah, TA axe bro was right on account of which shelving unit her book was located on, but wrong on the direct shelf.

_Shit_ , she curses in her head as she realizes she wouldn’t be able to reach than damn book on her own,  _ double shit _ . Curling the hand holding the list into a fist, she took a deep breath before letting it out slowly through her nose and forced herself to relax her hand. Grabbing the tote with the books she’d already found and hefting it up, she went to turn the corner but seemed to slam in, and then bounce off of a fellow student trying.

Tripping over their tangled legs, Nora let out a short whelp as she landed hard on her bottom, “Owe.” Taking only a second to gather her bearings, she snapped her head back to glare up at the tall, well built man who’d accidentally knocked her over. “Watch it,” she snaps, more of a hiss than really speaks.

“Oh, oh, oh no, I’m so sorry,” the man rushes out, tripping over his words as he bends down and simply picks Nora up before planting her on her feet. Stepping back, she watches as he flushes darkly, eyes going wide as he seems to realize what he’s done now. 

“Oh, oh no, oh crap! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to invade your space or, or touch you without consent, I’m, oh no, I’m, I’m so sorry!” he cries out, nearly shrieking, hands held out, palm out and fingers spread slightly, before he snapped his hands back down to his sides.

Tripping over their tangled legs, Nora let out a short whelp as she landed hard on her bottom, “Owe.” Taking only a second to gather her bearings, she snapped her head back to glare up at the tall, well built man who’d accidentally knocked her over. “Watch it,” she snaps, more of a hiss than really speaks.

“Oh, oh my God, oh, I’m so sorry,” the man rushes out, tripping over his words as he bends down and simply picks Nora up before planting her on her feet. Stepping back, she watches as he flushes darkly, eyes going wide as he seems to realize what he’s done now. 

“Oh my God! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to invade your space or, or touch you without consent, I’m, oh no, I’m, I’m so sorry!” he cries out, nearly shrieking, hands held out, palm out and fingers spread slightly, before he snapped his hands back down to his sides.

Normally, Nora would have snapped something out, been rude and scathing, but as she goes to open her mouth, she can’t help but take in the wide, round brown puppy eyes, the slight trembling lip, the way his whole  _ body _ seems to actually radiate just how  _ sorry _ he truly is, and finds herself saying, “It’s fine. Just. Just watch where you’re going next time. And ask before picking people up like that.”

“I will,” he nods, head moving so hard he’s actually causing his hair to flop with it’s movements. “I promise! I normally don’t do that. But, I, uh, I’m sorry. Really. Won’t happen again.” Glancing down, he bites his lip, looking so sorrowful as he does.

“It’s fine,” she sighs, somehow feeling bad for making him looked like a kicked puppy. They stand there for a moment, Nora eyeing him, while he pouts at their feet. “You can make it up to me,” she blurts out, more an attempt to get him to stop looking like  _ that _ , than to break the awkward silence they’ve fallen into.

She can’t help but let her lips quirk up into a small, smile as she watches him visibly brighten at her words.

“Yeah? What do you need?” he asks eagerly.

“I need help getting a book down for my intro class,” she answers, waving her hand towards the top shelf, “It’s that orange one in between the blue and white books right there.” She walks back the few steps, and points with her now free hand up to where the book, the bane of her day, sits just out of her reach. Turning to glance back at him, she watches as he moves over and reaches out, easily plucking what she needs right off the shelf.

“Here you are,” he says happily, carefully reaching out his hand to her, before stepping back once she’s firmly grabbed it.

“Thanks, uh-” she cuts herself off, giving him a questioning look instead of vocalizing the question.

“Ray,” he pipes up, lips stretching into a wide, happy grin, “I’m Ray Palmer.”

“Nora Darhk,” she added as she moves over to place her book in her tote bag. “And thank you,” she tacks on, a little awkwardly, “Saved me from having to ask the axe guy up front.”

“No problem.” Glancing around, Ray shifts, moving one hand up to scratch at the back of his neck as he does so. “Uh, would you, um.”

“Would you help me find the rest of my stuff?” Nora cuts in, though she feels like she more blurted it out, than asked really, with how she sounds, a little too loud, a little shaky. “I’ll buy you a coffee after. As a, uh, a thank you.”

She watches as Ray’s face softens, eyes going bright, as his body seems to lose some of the tension it’d gained in the few seconds before. “I’d like that. Maybe I could, uh, carry that for you?” he nods towards the tote, “I mean, if, uh, if you’d like, I wouldn’t mind carrying that for you,” he swallows, shifting from foot to foot as he goes back to looking a little too anxious.

Eyeing him for a long moment, Nora gives a slow nod, “If it gets too heavy, maybe, but I’ve got it for now.”

“Cool, okay, cool. So, um, where’s the next book we’re looking for?” Ray asks, perking up as he watches her bring her list up and reads it off. “I know where that one is, actually, I grabbed my copy earlier.” He continues talking, more babbling than anything, as he leads her over to the shelving unit holding her next book.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm Nixie! You can find me where I post the things I [create](https://nixies-creations.tumblr.com/), or at my main blog [here](http://nixie-deangel.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
